Margo Roman, DVM
The IV World Congress on Oxygen Ozone Therapy September 26-28, 2013, at the Ergife Palace Hotel in Rome, Italy. The theme of the Congress was a desire to find affordable solutions for medical issues, and the belief that Ozone efficacy, cost and success will lead world health in a better direction. This year’s Congress was “Health Efficiency and Savings Challenge of the Third Millennium.” The World Ozone Congress brought together Medical Doctors from 26 countries, each presented scientific papers on research and clinical applications of Oxygen Ozone Therapy (“OOT”).

For me going to Italy to learn and share knowledge on Oxygen-Ozone Therapy (“OOT”) was important and valuable. I was able to learn more applications and conditions that have been successfully treated and healed with OOT. At MASH, we have been using Ozone Therapy for 10 years and we feel it is such an asset to helping a multitude of health issues. Much of the research in the world on OOT has been done by the Italians, Russians, Germans and Cubans. It was informative hearing their presentations. With full translations into English, it was wonderful.

I went as a speaker and I was one of 3 veterinarians in attendance. It felt so great to share my experiences of the over 10,000 treatments that I have done over the past 10 years in my practice. It was particularly rewarding to see the many applications that I done through trial and experience proven through statistical double placebo blind trials. Evidence based medicine has been done with ozone research in Italy and around the world. The chance to discuss the applications and share ideas was priceless.

Another amazing experience was that since the World Congress was in Rome, the attendees were invited to St. Peter’s Square in the Vatican. Pope Francis made a special announcement during the September 29, 2013, Sunday Mass commemorating the World Congress on Oxygen Ozone Therapy and support of world health.

Dr. Roman gives a Dr ShowMore Calendar to the Pope Francis via the Swiss Guards at the Vatican on September 29, 2013. St. Francis is the Patron Saint of Animals. The Pope is concerned about the environment.

I brought about 60 copies of the Dr. ShowMore calendars to give to many of the attendees to share with the veterinarians in their countries. I was even able to bring the 2011 and 2013 version to give as a gift to Pope Francis. The Swiss Guards at the Vatican really liked it, and they received copies as well. St. Francis of Assisi is the patron Saint of animals. Given Pope Francis’ concern for the environment, I thought hat he would possibly learn something about health and sustainable health care options from our info packed calendar.

The food was so delicious in Italy, so I know I gained a few pounds; but it was worth it because I also gained a lot of research articles to defend the use of ozone for so many medical conditions. From infections to cancer, from pain to bulging discs, from MS to Parkinson’s, from renal dialysis to liver failure, the research is there, and the information about the successes needs to be publicized.

I was lecturing at the University for the Complementary and Alternative Veterinary Medical Department on Acupuncture, Homeopathy, Ozone therapy and Micro Biome Restorative Therapy.

It was such an enthusiastic group of veterinarians and other health professionals. They also got copies of our Dr. ShowMore Calendar and viewed the Dr DoMore documentary preview. Both were embraced and enjoyed. It was on this journey that this blog was written.

It has been 40 years since my first visit to the Dead Sea. In that time I have spent 35 years studying integrative medicine and especially veterinary medicine.

I have had some time to realize how important health and healing needs
to work with nature. The Dead Sea is an unique geographical and geological location on earth. It is the lowest place on earth over 400 meters below sea level. It is also has a very high ozone layer because of its distance below the surrounding hills, the ozone because it is heavier than air, it sinks to the lowest point and therefore it is present here. Because of the depth below sea level ones ears will pop and the increase in pressure occurs as if going into a hyperbaric oxygen chamber. I have had both ozone and hyperbaric medicine in my practice for almost 10 years and adjunct to healing the body is so positive.

Hyperbaric oxygen brings more oxygen to the body by increasing the blood oxygen percentage under pressure. The Dead Sea has been a beacon of healing since the reign of Cleopatra in Egypt where she felt it a place of youth and health.

Drs. Tami Siniaver, Margo Roman, Ronit Aboutboul, Doron Zur at the Koret Veterinary School at the Hebrew University in Rison Le Zion, Israel on June 8, 2013

There are many theories of why the Dead Sea has so many of these health benefits which are quite remarkable. The warm salty water is 10 times more concentrated with salt then any other ocean. It is in this low point on earth that hundreds of thousands of years of water flower downhill have evaporated the salts and created this unique natural wonder. There are more then 40 minerals present in the water. Sitting In these waters your body is almost in a battery of water / charges that can affects the cells mineral components. Absorption through your skin in this warm, soothing, but stinging salty water helps relieve skin and joint issue. People come for over the world to bathe and float in these waters. Doctors from Scandinavia give week long prescriptions to their patients.

Those healing properties have been well know but the ones I think have been overlooked is the Ozone and Hyperbaric oxygen affect. Ozone is what protects our earth from the harmful rays of the sun. Ozone is created with the rising of Oxygen from the earth and it bombarded with ultraviolet light and an electrical spark like lightening. We have O2+O2+O2= O3+O3. This ozone drops down to earth as it is heavier than air and cleanses the earth. It quickly returns to pure O2 where it helps breakdown petrochemicals and pollution. When there are a lot of chemicals like sulfur, heavy metals, and toxins we get smog. Ozone is what helps clean up our air quality.

Ozone or O3 therapy as a medical application helps bring more oxygen to the tissue. It is mixed with high levels of oxygen and helps stimulate the mitochondria of the cells. Our cellar metabolism and repair depends on healthy mitochondria. By increasing the mitochondria numbers and efficiency we heal the body. This type of cellular oxidation is good for the cells.

Including hyperbaric oxygen with the ozone therapy is creating an even higher level of oxygen utilization. Auto immune issues, infections, inflammations, parasitic issues and even cancer thrive in higher levels of CO2. With ozone with are displacing the CO2 with oxygen. With the addition of Biophotonic Blood Therapy BBT or Ultraviolet Blood Irradiation, combining these oxygen therapies with the already know value of the Dead Sea could really bring health and healing to a whole other level.

What an opportunity to combine nature with peace and wellness. When looking at the geographical location of the Dead Sea and we know it is a location that conflicts are occurring. Hatred and mistrust is pathological in the area. It has caused the US Sept 11 event and the Boston Marathon bombing as well as hundreds of thousands of lives lost.

How can we take this negative passion of War and Death and bring it to Peace and Wellness?

Can we somehow have people look to helping their elder parents stay healthy and their young children achieve the positive potential of having a safe and fulfilling life? My wish is to have people come together for the sake of the earths health and their families full lives.
We need to find the common thread of peace and wellness. To take this Dead Sea and have it give back the breath life into humankind. We need to protect it as we encourage its future use. If we allow cars with petrofumes to exhaust into the area we will have forever lost the oxygen healing that occurs in this ancient
place. Electric and solar power must lead the way. We look to the Great Salt Lake in Utah. It too lies in a bowl and it has become a toxic air city. Reversing that may take a long time if ever. We need to protect this natural resource for the future of peace for humanity.

Lets let healing and health be the peacetime cry for the Mideast and beyond. Lets let the two sons of Abraham help chose a better world.

Dogs have a tendency to get into weird foreign objects, which is a problem that can often force their caretakers to go to veterinary emergency clinics. At times, these are serious issues that can be life threatening. Like young children who put everything in their mouths, younger dogs will eat and chew on a lot of things. When items get lodged in the gastrointestinal tract, vomiting will result. Abdominal pain can occur and cause tenderness when touched. With the repeated vomiting, dehydration follows, electrolytes are depleted and the intestines become more tense. The cycle continues as the dog becomes toxic. Surgery is often presented as the option of choice.

But what can one do to stop the vicious emergency cycle that ends up as a $3,000-$10,000 surgical emergency bill. Dogs eat a lot of funky stuff and most of it passes. This first aid I propose in this article, may avoid more serious complications in most circumstances in which surgery would have been the only solution offered; trying this protocol first should be standard procedure to avoid unnecessary expense and unnecessary harm to the patient.

Integrative treatment of Gastrointestinal Blockage:
I want to show you six cases of success using a non-surgical approach to providing a positive affect on the GI tract.
Do not give any drugs to stop the GI tract as we want to work with an “awake gut.”

1) Hydration – With the continuous vomiting, the body is dehydrated. This can be stressful for all the organ systems, so giving intravenous or subcutaneous fluids is needed. I use ozonated saline subcutaneous with Tachyon energy placed outside the glass cylinders, as it hydrates and also delivers O3 which converts to O2. The benefits of the ozone are to bring down inflammation and it acts as an antimicrobial for anaerobic bacteria. The ozone delivers oxygen to the irritated tissue as it displaces CO2. By increasing the O2 it helps the traumatized gut area and gives oxygen to the stable tissue. I also recommend using Vitamin C and B-complex (½ -1 cc of each is suggested) to act as an anti-oxidant, preventing free radical damage from the oxidation

2) Lubrication – The gut becomes dried out and the object lodged in the stomach or gut will stick to the mucosa. I therefore give a bolus of Vaseline petroleum jelly (approx 1 tablespoon per 10 lbs). Give Vaseline at the initial diagnosis and follow up an hour later with a Vaseline and bread sandwich, which acts as a lubricant and a bolus to help push the foreign body toward its exit.

3) Homeopathy – Homeopathic remedies allow the body’s vital energy to respond to a particular symptom. Nux Vomica is the remedy for overeating or eating something toxic. I give a 200C Nux Vomica mixed in water placed on the tongue about 15 minutes after the petroleum ingestion. Calendula helps with the intestines to become less inflamed and move more normally.
To give 200C or 30C Calendula after the 1st and 2nd petroleum sandwich at home.
To give 200C or 30C Arnica for pain if needed.

4) Acupuncture – Place acupuncture needles in the following points:
ST 36 ST 25 – for GI pain and to increase the normal peristaltic patterns
PC6 – for the nausea
BL 20, 18 – to help the liver and spleen
Bai Hui and GV14 – as a balancing point
CV 1 (just above the anus, turn with stimulation)
LI 4, 11 – to balance the large intestine
BL 60 – for pain
SP 6 – to support the yin organs
GV 22 – to settle the nerves, if the dog is anxious
GB 20 – for stimulating the immune system and helping the gall bladder
Leave the needles in for about 35-45 minutes.

Then send the dog home.
Allowing the dog to be home in its own environment allows the body to relax and the GI tract to initiate a more normal peristaltic movement. Have the owner walk the dog every 15 minutes. They should walk their dog in its common places so the dog will not be stressed with new smells and sights. We want to get the normal parasympathetic digestive actions to resume and the gut to push the foreign body out. Instruct the pet owner to always focus positive thought about seeing the foreign body pass. Always be positive and believe it can pass. Further instruct the owner to repeat with 2 Vaseline sandwiches, to be followed by Nux Vomica and calendula. If the dog continues to vomit as it did prior to initial therapy, you may need to give another dose of fluid therapy. Therefore, send the client home with a 1000c bag of spiked Lactated Ringers with 2cc B complex and 2cc Vitamin C to giving about 50cc/10 lbs.

After 4-5 hours, if you are not seeing a reduction of vomiting and some interest in defecating, a re-evaluation may be needed. Remind your clients to always stay in touch with their veterinarian.

The cases discussed below involving my clients, involved animals who each started with a healthy gut. Many of my clients feed their pets raw food, which establishes and maintains vigor and stamina of healthy flora. We resume the good quality digestive enzymes and probiotics and some herbs to help settle the GI tract. I use Rx Vitamins Nutrigest, as it has quality herbal and nutraceuticals. I also use Animal Apothecary Phytomucil with slippery elm, marshmallow root and plantain.

Case 1: Renny, a Three year old Chihuahua
Presented after 24 hours of vomiting and abdominal distress after eating a popsicle stick. No stools seen in past 12 hours. He was dehydrated and his mucous membranes were congested. His temperature was 101.8. His abdomen was sensitive and a little doughy. All options were discussed, and the integrative approach to the gastrointestinal blockage was started immediately. I gave about 40cc ozonated saline and followed the protocol. He totally relaxed and slept through the acupuncture treatment, which was his first rest in 24 hours. After 4 hours, he seemed more comfortable at home. 2 hours later he went outside and had a bowel movement. The stick passed the next day.
Case 2: Kona, a Chocolate Black Labrador, 11 months old.
Presented after vomiting for 12 hours. In addition, his last stool 12 hours before had fiber and threads in it. No stools in rectum when presented. Kona was mildly dehydrated. His owner was given all options and chose to do the Integrative approach to Gastrointestinal Blockage. We gave 180 cc of ozonated fluids and did all the rest of the protocol. After several hours, he seemed less anxious and passed Vaseline laden feces and then slept. In the morning Kona passed 2 feet of a towel and was fine afterwards.

Case 3: Sampson, German Shepherd, 11 Months old
Presented after 18 hours’ episode of vomiting. Rectal examination showed scanty stools, and the abdomen was tender and doughy. The dog was not dehydrated, but was given 200cc of ozonated saline SQ. The owner was given all options and chose the Integrative Approach to gastrointestinal blockage. Within 3 hours Sampson was so much more relaxed. He also had pain in his rear legs and back, so he got the arnica as well. He started defecating about 6 hours later and started passing the petroleum. His GI tract needed some more stabilization with phytomucil. Samson improved after 48 hours and was normal. We never saw any foreign material pass, but the owner did not see every bowel movement.

Case 4: Neitche, a Doberman, 7 years old
Presented to Tufts Veterinary Emergency after 8 hours of vomiting and appearing as if he were having a torsion. He had been diagnosed at Tufts with Pyloric Obstruction with a recommendation of immediate surgery. He had a Hct of 85 and had been given IV fluids. X-rays were taken which showed granular material obstructing the pyloris. The owner asked for acupuncture, but was told that acupuncture would not do anything for this problem.
Instead of the expensive emergency surgery that was recommended, the owner had Neitche released to come to my practice to get an integrative treatment. He was given 150 cc Ozone and the Integrative Approach to Gastrointestinal Blockage. Within 3 hours, he started passing the Vaseline and feeling more comfortable. Shortly after the Vaseline appeared, granular sand began passing with mucous. (After the fact, we thought that he probably ate salted snow with sand that was plowed off the driveway, and possibly some cat litter.)

Mollie a spayed 6 year old Springer Spaniel
Presented to the clinic two hours after eating a 1X8 foot piece of cotton and a similar size piece of silk. She was not yet in any abdominal discomfort. The owner wanted to try to be proactive and possibly avoid a trip for x-ray and surgery. So the Integrative treatment for gastrointestinal blockage was started. That night she started passing big chunks of fabric lubricated with Vaseline. Some of the fibers actually were partially digested. She was fine that whole day and did not miss a step.

Champagne A 8 year Male Neutered Yellow Lab.
Champagne had been doing great on raw food change. His coat was the best it had ever been. Recently his stool had been soft but his owner gave him a cooked steak bone, not part of a raw meat diet as the cooked bones make pointy shards and can cause intestinal damage. Raw bone would have been fine if it was chewed. Well he chewed parts of it but the final big chunk went down. He had been vomiting since and after a few hours they brought Champ in. The same protocol was done to this dog with abdominal sensitivity. And within 3 hours he was so much better. He had a few Vaseline stools and was able to go on a trip with the family the next day.

Summary
Each client came back for another ozone treatment and the dogs all went back to their healthy diets. The owners each saved at least $3,000, and the dogs avoided unnecessary surgical intervention.
By combining alternative modalities, we were able to re-balance the body enough to allow the GI tract to correct itself and resume the flow of waste material. Each component played a part.
The hydration enabled the body to start functioning more normally. The lubrication gave a much needed softening and lubricant to the internal lining of the gut. The homeopathic energetically balanced the vital energy to influence the GI tract as a response to the remedy. The acupuncture moved the stagnant Qi surrounding the gastrointestinal organs. All relieved pain and re-balanced the stomach, liver, small intestines and large intestines. The positive intent and allowing the dog to relax in its own environment allowed the normal parasympathetic digestive process to continue moving the case in a hopeful direction.
To paraphrase a statement from a very different context: “How many anecdotes does it take to make a recommended course of treatment?” Set forth above are four of many anecdotes that should be used to identify a course of treatment that is preferable to unnecessary and potentially harmful surgical intervention. There are times when surgery is necessary – after other (better) treatments are unsuccessful; but not as an only option and an option of first choice.

HONEY
All civilizations have relied on natural therapeutic agents to meet their primary health care needs at some point in time. Honey and honey containing salves have been used to relieve pain, promote wound healing and to treat sores, boils, cuts, abrasions, insect bites, burns and skin disorders for thousands of years. The ancient Greeks physicians and the Egyptians were among the first to record the beneficial effects of honey for wound care. The ancient Egyptians were the earliest recorded beekeepers and honey for wound healing was an integral part of the “Three Healing Gestures”. This included cleaning the wound, applying a salve made from honey, lint, (vegetable fiber) and grease (animal fat), and bandaging the wound. Despite the long history of honey for medical conditions, it largely fell out of favor in conventional medical practice during the era of modern antibiotics in the 1970s. Due to the development of antibiotic resistant wound infections, the use of honey for wound care has undergone a renaissance in the last few years. Today honey is being investigated and incorporated into modern therapeutic wound healing products. Honey is particularly useful for the treatment of poorly healing or chronically infected wounds and for those animals that develop undesirable side effects such as intolerance or resistance to conventional pharmaceuticals.

Not all honeys have equal medicinal value. The anti-microbial activity of the honey has been shown to vary in quality according to its floral source. Historical records show that when honey was prescribed for a medical condition the type and location of the honey was nearly always specified. Doctors throughout history knew that honey obtained from specific floral sources produced better clinical results than honey from other plants or regions. Modern laboratory testing of many different types of honeys using bacterial cultures to evaluate their antimicrobial effects have validated this clinical observation. Not all honeys have equal medicinal value. The anti-microbial activity of the honey has been shown to vary in quality according to its floral source. Historical records show that when honey was prescribed for a medical condition the type and location of the honey was nearly always specified. Doctors throughout history knew that honey obtained from specific floral sources produced better clinical results than honey from other plants or regions. Modern laboratory testing of many different types of honeys using bacterial cultures to evaluate their antimicrobial effects have validated this clinical observation. Recent investigation and research on honey shows that it contains antibacterial compounds that are effective against many common antibiotic resistant bacteria. In addition it has been shown to inhibit the growth of a wide range of fungi, protozoa and viruses, and may have use for the treatment of cancer patients.

Honey is composed of 17% water and 82% sugar (primarily glucose and fructose), proteins, enzymes, vitamins, minerals and a variety of floral phytochemicals. It is these phytochemicals that give honey its characteristic color, flavor, and biochemical properties (anti-oxidant, anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial). In essence, honey may be thought of as a concentrated plant fluid with added bee proteins that makes honey an “herbal medicine”. All honey has high osmolarity, low pH, low water content and upon dilution produces hydrogen peroxide that is responsible for its antibacterial properties. However not all honeys exhibit equal hydrogen peroxide activity and so vary in their antimicrobial potency. There are also certain types of honey that contain floral phytochemical factors that are responsible for strong non-peroxide antimicrobial effects. These honeys maintain their antimicrobial properties even when diluted by large amounts of wound exudate. The Leptospermum spp (manuka and jellybush) honeys from New Zealand and Australian are in this group and are currently under intense scrutiny for use as wound healing “medical grade honeys”. In 2007 the FDA approved the use of a line of manuka honey based wound dressings called MediHoney that are distributed by DermaSciences Inc.

For more information on medical honey: www.bio.waikato.ac.nz/honey/special.shtml and www.dermasciences.com

Micro-Biome Restoration Therapy (“MBRT”) or Fecal Transplantation (FT) will soon become common protocol in the re-establishment of the GI tract microbiome in dogs and cats. A single human has over 100 trillion microbes throughout their body, equivalent to two-to-five pounds of varied microscopic life. Quantitatively, we are more microbes than “human” as prokaryotes are so much smaller and less complex than human cells.

When we use probiotics to support gut health we are using 1-20 species of microorganisms. According to Dr. Alexander Khorut, M.D., a gastroenterologist at University of Minnesota, he has said that we have from 300-500 species from the mouth to the anus, not including various sub-species. When significant gastrointestinal problems occur, the microorganisms need to be replaced. A technique which has the hundreds of species available at once is called MBRT. Micro-Biome Restoration Therapy may be the most efficient way to accomplish that goal. If 85 percent of our immune system comes from our gut, then a lack of these normal symbiotic microbes could be the reason for failure of the immune system resulting in disease, cancer and autoimmune issues.

In dogs, eating of feces or copraphagia is a normal behavior of dogs that is frowned about by pet owners. But it is normal. In the wild after a canine or feline kills its prey the first part of the eating starts in the abdomen where intestines and visceral organs are injested. The animal receives all this pre and probiotics with the digestion of the digested plant material that give them fiber and microbes. Is there an innate need for animals to seek out stool because they are looking to support their gut health?

There are multiple peer reviewed articles that have showed that both oral and rectal infusion of fecal material in humans has been able to reintroduce a balanced GI tract and stop a clostridium difficile overgrowth. There are so many more beneficial microbes that have yet to be discovered and appreciated.

Most recently was an article in the New York Times When Pills Fail This Option Provides a Cure. The article talks about the fecal transplant in New England Journal of Medicine Article January 16, 2013. http://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/17/health/disgusting-maybe-but-treatment-works-study-finds.html?pagewanted=2&ref=newenglandjournalofmedicine

Here at MASH – Main Street Animal Services of Hopkinton, we have done over 30 MBRT’s/ fecal transplants on dogs and cats. The results are so positive that we want to share these cases and encourage other veterinarians about how this is such a positive option. We have also done supportive nutrition and have included ozone therapy to increase the O2 in the body and allow more positive O2 utilization.

We always introduce the MBRT to animals that have had priming of the gut flora with digestive enzymes, probiotics, additional whole food glandulars and raw meat diets. Giving all the benefits of bringing the new microbiomes into a new home which has some of the comforts of the original host may allow the balance to survive. Some of our cases have had such a huge positive difference with one dosage, that once was all they needed.

Some have had a two week improvement and then seem to be better but not as good as the initial implant. We are thinking that like probiotic therapy it is done after two weeks and we are seeing the need to repeat the implant. Therefore, caretakers will take home the MRBT material and keep it frozen, removing pieces to be given 1-2 times a week. We are still trying to figure out how long and how much is needed to get a gut back in balance.

We give glandulars to animals to support the glands that are in need. We give prebiotics and probiotics to support the gut’s flora. But if we could give possibly the normal flora and the pre and probiotic in a form that would be consistent, that would naturally be the best method. We might simply use a healthy donor to replenish another individual’s micro ecology.

We have added a new modality here at MASH to help stimulate the immune system. It has been used for over 80 years in humans around the world. A new adaptation makes it adaptable for treating animals. It also has been called Ultraviolet Blood Irradiation .

It is the process of taking 1/1/2 -3 cc’s blood from a patient and adding heparin to the blood, and then adding ozonated saline to dilute the blood. By diluting the blood you can get more light through the specimen. Adding the O2/O3 saline increases the oxygen in the blood and kills some viruses and other organisms. The blood is run through Ultraviolet light inside a quartz cuvette. This photoluminescense brings light to the blood in a ultraviolet spectrum and kills more viruses and bacteria in the blood. Then, this blood sample when it has been initially ozonated activates the mitochondria of the cells and allows more efficient oxygen utilization in the Krebs Cycle of each mitochondria.

This allows the NAH to become NADH and gives the mitochondria the energy to run the cell. So with the healthy cells supported with oxygen, and the de-activated bacteria and viruses that the UV light killed, it almost acts as an immune responder and allows the body to fight the infection that is attacking the body.

It has been helpful for finding a way to stimulate the body’s own immune system to react. It fights a specific infection, inflammation or disease, that is what we all hope medicine can achieve. By using the body’s own blue print for what is troubling it and giving the healthy cells something as simple as Oxygen could seem too simple. The results of using this are impressive.

The blood and saline solution is returned via a small butterfly catheter in the vein. It can be repeated every 48 hours if acute case or 2 times a week then weekly.

Some of the cases that I have seen improved with BBT are:
Infections
Allergies
Kidney infections and failure
Cognitive Function
Cancer
Diabetes
Lyme
Lameness

To all my clients of MASH and supporters of the Dr.DoMore Project, Dr ShowMore Calendar the Integrative Health Pet Expo and all the projects of the Center for Integrative Veterinary Care. We are so excited that the AHVMA foundation has this wonderful opportunity to have funds matched by Drs Becker and Mercola and want you to support this effort.
As you know our mission is to outreach and educate to the public and profession to bring integrative veterinary care to the animals we all want to keep healthy. Having the funds to make it happen is so important and will help make it happen. This is a timely opportunity for the matching so do it before July 2,2012. Otherwise this foundation will be there as a wonderful place to help support all our efforts
http://www.foundation.ahvma.org.

Our goal is to advance Holistic Veterinary medicine and to make it part of every veterinary school. The Foundation currently funds scholarships for veterinary students, student chapters of the AHVMA and research grants. We have operated on a shoestring since inception but finally have a chance to take off and SOAR.

The AHVMA Foundation is a nonprofit 501(c)3. The Foundation works to improve research and professional education and scholarship for holistic and integrative veterinary medicine.

Drs. Mercola and Becker (http://healthypets.mercola.com/) have agreed to match every donation on a 2:1 basis for this week up to a maximum (on their part) of another $400,000 making a potential of $600,000 total

Please Note – Donations can be general or directed. Since a number of my clients are adamantly against animal testing in any way, you can specify that you are donating to help develop programs and scholarships to make animal testing unnecessary. It is my firm commitment that these moral obligations attached to those donations WILL be honored .

Yes! Drs. Mercola and Becker will match every dollar donated to the Foundation between June 25-July 2, 2012. That means every $12 donation becomes $36 and $100 becomes $300! They will donate up to $400,000, so please help us collect $200,000 before Monday!

If you have someone to Honor or to Remember and feel Alternative Holistic Veterinary Medicine has importance then now is the time to help.

You can even pledge for donations over $1,000. Simply pledge to our web site during the time period and then fund by no later than August 17, 2012.

Please forward this email to your friends and colleagues and post it online. Please encourage them to donate a dollar a month ($12) or more to support this important work.

Please Donate Now:

I have put together a short pdf on how to donate online for those of you feeling less tech aware. Here is a link to the instructions from the Natural Holistic web site.

The below article is a topic that I think should be on the minds of every individual as we ponder why so many animal are getting cancer and they are getting sicker and sicker. As a veterinarian for over 35 years I am seeing more chronically ill animals that cannot be cured as their immune systems that have failed. We are seeing this in younger and younger animals as cancer affects over 46% of dogs and 39 % of cats. The frustration that veterinarians and their caretakers feel is overwhelming. Owners ask Why? and Why can’t we help them? We are getting epigenetic damage from many of the 80,000 chemicals that are in our environment that were not there 60 years ago.

Those of us that work in holistic veterinary medicine are trying to find ways to keep these tragic failures of the health of these individual animals. As we look at the research that is in the below and now we can see that all the pesticides, toxins and unnecessary vaccinations that we have given our pets for generation after generation have done damage that has changed the genes of those pets. What our dogs grandmother got exposed to can affect multiple generations to come. Sicker and sicker, younger and younger until it is so obvious.

We all need to start to wake up and start to question all the chemicals we put on our lawns, clean our homes, spray or spot on our pets. You are what you eat and those chemical will transfer their damage to your DNA too. The animals we bring into our homes are the canaries in the coal mine. They are showing us what the future of our human family members will be. In 12 years we can see 6 generations of pets and genetic breakdown can be right in front of our face…Lets wake up and try to stop further damage and help our beloved family members more protected from toxic chemicals and environmental damage.

I say these words as a frustrated veterinarian questioning the massive numbers of cancer that come into my practice. We try to boost the immune system and try to support the healthy cells and organs so they can resist the DNA damage. We hope to make more quality life and more quality time with these very important family members.

A very important group that I have had the fortune of being a member of for over 26 years is WAND, Women’s Action for New Direction and it celebrated its 30th anniversary. Women’s Action for Nuclear Disarmament was its first name and it was started to try to reduce nuclear proliferation by Dr. Helen Caldicott, an Australian pediatrician concerned about the health and safety of our world and all the children in it.

This group of grass root activist go to Washington DC to lobby for reduction of unnecessary military spendings and wants to redirect funding to women and children health, education, environmental issues and peace initiatives. For the past 20 years WAND started WiLL Women’s Legislative Lobby, which are women legislators from all 50 US states. This outstanding group of politically active women have the power in numbers to bring topics to both the US Congress and Senate.

It is an empowering experience to go to Washington DC with these outspoken, intelligent, caring and articulate women and present support or objection to a particular bill or issue. It is important to be able to have your voice heard at all levels but to have the experience to Lobby as a group with an agenda that can really help change the world for the better and know that your lobbying is not big business or corporate driven but from the heart is truly rewarding.

We celebrated out Mother’s Day event on Friday May 11. 2011. I have been the only veterinarian in this group for over 26 years and feel so lucky to be able to bring animal issues into these conversations Check out all the issues and events at www.wand.org

From the Blog: Times I Remembered to Write. Last night I was looking at random videos on my computer, most of them shared a common subject- Lina, our extra-special basenji. I found a very personal one I’d taken with my old phone where I could be heard talking behind the camera filming Lina on the sofa. It was January 2009, a time when we were dealing with sadness and navigating options a few weeks after her cancer diagnosis. I’m telling Lina not to worry, that we are going to have a great year and that I would just follow her lead. She is seen confirming with her eyes and nodding in agreement. Lina nods and blinks and wrinkles her forehead in the most understanding ways when she is listening. I tell her I think she is very wise, and in watching her response, there is little room for doubt. All we really had to do was follow her lead.

Lina has impressed everyone with her continuing good health. She’s been a living miracle for years now. Generally, vets and professionals say they’ve never seen a dog do this well with her type of cancer. Dr. Margo Roman, Lina’s holistic vet told me she believes Lina’s story should be shared- people should know about this and benefit from it. She asked me to write, and I recognized that I had been waiting for her to ask.
I want to share something amazing here, the thing is, every time I start to write about Lina, I’m reminded that I thought she was amazing long before she became a medical miracle. It’s so easy to blurt out her status, she remains strong and happy and healthy, even though over 3 years ago, several vets and Tufts Veterinary Hospital gave her 3 months to live after they did a biopsy on her nasty cancer- TCC. We figured we’d do our best to beat it and figured out how to beat canine cancer by being so smart, etc., blah blah blah. It’s harder to actually know that what we’ve done is so right. Besides I only take credit for being the one to give Lina all the credit. Through the seeking of professional help and finding ourselves offered terrible options, I was empowered to find something else to do. By following my instincts and taking the lead in Lina’s care, I thought, well at least I would be trying something. I wanted our efforts to be a success, but I’ll get to that later. The thing is, the story I really want to tell about Lina is the love story.

Two times in my life, I hugged someone when we first met and recognized a feeling of destiny. I will always remember that night Lina gave me a hug, back before she was even our dog. The only other “first hug” I hold a memory of was when I met Chris, my husband, Lina’s other daddy back in 1995. By the night we met Lina in 2003, Chris and I had just bought a house so we could get a dog. Our first project after moving in was fencing in the backyard so we’d be ready when the right one came along. We scanned the listings on a basenji rescue website. One contact led us to Lina. She was four years old. I saw her and I knew, but Lina wasn’t even the dog that her owner, Angel Smith wanted to give up for adoption that night. She had two female basenjis and had to let one go. They were feuding such that there would be physical violence if one or the other dog wasn’t crated. The dog up for adoption was the black and white basenji -another female… We’d already heard their story on the phone. On sight, I knew the red and white one with the sensitive expression- Lina, was our dog.

Angel said that someone would have to offer a really perfect home for her to give Lina up again. You see, Angel had already given her up a few months earlier to a woman who changed her mind after keeping her a month and didn’t like Lina and returned her (which I will never understand, but am forever grateful.) Lina had been given back. I told Angel with no hesitation that we could offer Lina the perfect home, I agreed to every stipulation, including keeping ours a one-dog house.

We were granted the privilege of taking Lina out for our first date that night. As we drove away from Angel’s house for our ice cream date, Lina wrapped her head and arm around my shoulder and sighed the sweetest sigh in my ear. I will never forget that hug. It was a rare moment of expression. We went on with the evening and afterward we all agreed on our return at the end of the week to bring her home with us for a trial weekend.

Over the next few days I thought how funny that Chris and I had been having an ongoing discussion of dog names all summer and one of our female name favorites was “Angelina”- I was having thoughts of destiny…

Lina came for the weekend, it went well and I called Angel that Sunday and told her I really didn’t see the point in returning Lina only to begin the transition later. We were ready to offer Lina a “forever home”. Instead of returning her, we agreed that Angel would visit our house the following week and we could work out all the details for Lina. That’s how she became our girl.

Since then, Lina is central to our family, including our holidays- especially Christmas, vacations- especially going to Provincetown. She is comically well behaved dining out at patio restaurants. She loves the sun and sand on the beach. She relishes the change of pace and togetherness of vacationing together- truly a shining example of openness to the blessings of a good vacation. We’ve already booked our rental for June 2012. We always enjoy sharing the anticipation of holidays with her. Lina knows that we are grateful to have her, thankful for presence, and appreciate her specialness. There are many details to share about our life together and the role she fills in our lives, but I want to be clear about Lina’s confidence and sense of importance in our family. She is loved and appreciated and she knows it. January 2009, the shattering news came from the Oncologist at Tufts Veterinary Hospital confirming Lina’s diagnosis of TCC- transitional cell carcinoma. The biopsy results left no question about it she had inoperable cancer in the bladder and it was likely to spread. They gave her 3 to 5 months to live- without chemotherapy, or with chemotherapy- best case scenario, 5 to 7 months. Possible treatment options were unpromising and risky with inevitable side-effects.

The vets at Tufts left little room for hope. It was going to be terrible. I told them I just couldn’t believe it. She was so healthy- the only indication was a slight change in pattern when she urinates. She didn’t seem sick in any way. She was 9 years old at the time and energetic and had never been sick a day in her life. The vet said, “I know it’s hard to believe, she does seem strong and healthy, we’ve seen this many times. She’ll live for as long as she can pee- for as long as she can get her urine out. Then, at some point the tumors will grow too large, block the flow and she won’t be able to pee. Then she dies in 3 days. As cancer’s go, this is a really terrible one.”

What could I say but no? No all around- no to everything they offered, no to 3 months, and no to this being everything we could do. I accepted a prescription for meloxicam, an anti-inflamatory medication. After adjusting the dosage down, it didn’t seem to hurt anything. Chris and I went over and over all their treatment options for months, sometimes agreeing about what to do, sometimes not. We considered everything that Western Veterinary medicine had to offer and nothing ever sounded right to me for Lina? How could I opt to make a choice like chemotherapy or radiation or inserting a urethra tube that would have risks and side-effects and immediately weaken her when she was strong and healthy and seemed fine? I just wanted to keep her that way. No matter what I did, it sounded like it was to be the end of a lot of things for us (-but it wasn’t.) How could it be that we weren’t going to have a great summer together? (-but we did.) Chris and I were stunned and hurt by the news. We left in tears. The vets at Tufts were very convincing. Do I wish I’d covered my ears? -Maybe it was the harshness of the news that sprung us into action to find a better way to give Lina every advantage. Could we have done as well without fear?

I was going to ensure her the perfect diet and exercise- walks 2x a day. One thing was clear. Lina hated going to the vet, she was going to tremble and show her misery every time we took her to an appointment. All along I was gaining a wealth of information and advice online. Different things had worked for different dogs. It was clear that Lina would benefit from a mostly grain-free diet. Beyond that, I wanted to follow my instincts but I didn’t know where to start. I scheduled a consult at MASH with a holistic/homeopathic veterinarian to point us in the right direction. I was hoping Lina would show her wisdom and appear more relaxed through the appointment, but no such luck. She shook and trembled in horror as we entered the door.

However, we left with renewed confidence along with Lina’s first bottles of natural supplements and began adding them to her every meal. We also learned about some alternative optional therapies for Lina. I knew that I needed to do something. Doing nothing would have felt terribly wrong to me.

I don’t know why I asked Dr. Kabler at that visit about the little figure on the wall shelf marked with acupuncture points. It was for tong ren she told me- “really out there”- an energetic form of acupuncture. It sounded very strange to me, but in the coming days I found that I kept thinking about it. I was glad that I had grabbed a business card for it on the way out. I was intrigued at the possibility of tong ren as part of the spiritual piece of helping Lina face cancer. Not only did it fit the criteria of treating Lina at home, but I read some remarkable testimonials about successful results in treatment. So we contacted the name on the card- Marcia Zais. I could tell Lina responded to tong ren from the very first treatment. We started with one or two times a week. About a year later the tools for tong ren fell into my hands and I learned enough to participate in the practice. It’s so normal for us now that I tend to forget that it’s “really out there”. We have a relaxing routine doing her therapy while listening to animal healing music.

So, over three years of all of this now, it’s hard to call to mind all aspects of the journey. I’ve learned invaluable lessons about fear and dealing with fear and working through fear. Lina’s symptoms have varied from little or nothing and to very concerning at times. For much of the second year she appeared to drip blood in her urine, but she never acted sick or uncomfortable or weak. I often say that we are doing what we can but when it comes right down to it, Lina gets the credit. Whatever it is she has to deal with, she is dealing with it.

Then one day last fall, Lina was sick. She appeared swollen and weak after we’d left her home with a babysitter for a two-night getaway. I could see that she wasn’t doing so well on our return and she worsened through a sleepless night. Chris wanted to take her to Tufts in the middle of the night, which I just couldn’t see as productive or helpful for her. I wanted to hold her through the night and call Marcia Zais (animal communicator) in the morning. My plan worked out well for Lina, Marcia identified Lina’s discomfort as not being the cancer, but an infection. We got her in to see Dr. Roman (holistic vet) later that morning and it took little convincing to start her on antibiotics. Lina responded almost immediately and hasn’t been sick since.

As for the specifics with changing up treatments and supplements over time- I leave it to instinct. One supplement with multiple types of algae in it that was effective in treating survivors of the Chernobyl disaster, as well as cancer survivors was central for a long time. Now we’re doing cranberry extract with a couple of nutritional ones and regular drops of “Tinkle Tonic”, before that it was an essiac tincture. Certain recommended healthy options appealed to me as they sounded like they would taste good for her. Her after-walkies snack every morning consists of 2% yogurt with fish oil. Lina has always loved to eat a variety of healthy foods including fruits and vegetables and I didn’t want to get to adding so much stuff to her food to compromise her pleasure of eating. She loves real food and she gets it. Meat, fish, eggs and vegetables (although we also use high-quality canned sometimes), fresh vegetables (raw green beans are her favorite) combined with rotating supplements, two walks per day along with regular tong ren treatments.

I’ve learned a lot about love and energy, visualization and anticipation, and faith and belief too. Every event becomes a milestone. Birthdays. Holidays. Christmas. Summer Vacation. I’d never have guessed it, but these really were to be the best years. Lina has blown away her odds for survival and continues to live a very happy life. I will forever be inspired by her success and her energy.